


Stress and How to Alleviate It

by jesusonaunicycle



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Arthur Knows, Bottoming from the Top, Butt Plugs, Dirty Talk, Fluff, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sex Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 03:52:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1673696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesusonaunicycle/pseuds/jesusonaunicycle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"<em>Stress, </em>Merlin’d said. Arthur rolled his eyes, the action cause a dull pain to spread through his head. He’d felt nothing but stress for the better part of six months."</p><p>Or, the one where Arthur is trying to repeal the ban on magic and Merlin takes away his worry. With sex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stress and How to Alleviate It

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the product of boredom and my desire to get better at sex scenes. I'm not the best at them, so this was an exercise for me to test the waters a bit more. And for me to join in on the power bottom Merlin madness that struck tumblr a while ago and I just couldn't contain myself. Ye. This is not a serious thing
> 
> No notes or warnings, really! No angst which is new for me. If there are any problems let me know and I'll fix them! c:

~~~~ Arthur was late coming from council. A headache pounded in his temples, his shoulders feeling like one hundred weights rested upon them.  _Stress,_ Merlin’d said. Arthur rolled his eyes, the action cause a dull pain to spread through his head. He’d felt nothing but stress for the better part of six months. He took each grueling flight of stairs to his chambers tiredly—arguing with his advisors was a tedious business. He knew the issue of legalizing magic would take a considerable amount of time and effort, but he hadn't been prepared for the sheer amount of work it would bring.

Finally making it up to his chamber door, Arthur allowed himself a weary sigh. The only buoys that kept him afloat through the madness was the satisfying thought that Camelot was changing, and the ever-present warmth that his few supporters gave him—namely, Merlin.

The smile that graced the king’s lips was the first in what felt like weeks. Merlin had remained at Arthur’s side for over five years, dutifully attending to him and being his friend. _And then some,_ Arthur thought with a wry grin.

After his coronation, things began to change between him and Merlin. Fleeting glances turned to lingering stares, friendly punches changed to open-palmed touches. He’d always thought that there was _something_ about Merlin, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. And then he’d realized.

Merlin’s magic was a difficult thing to come to grips with. His façade of innocence had truly fooled Arthur, until Merlin did something absolutely _stupid._ Honestly, Arthur wasn’t a witless child. The dragon, the blatant glowing eyes—Merlin was lucky it had been Arthur and not a knight or a guard who saw his magic. But the discovery was years ago, now. Arthur had been king for one, and Merlin loyalty hadn’t once strayed.

Arthur sighed again, but this time it wasn’t so tired. He pushed open his chamber door, the heat of a roaring fire a balm for his exhausted, cold bones. The comforting smell of polish, woodsmoke and the underlying, sharp zing that Arthur came to realize was magic soothed his frayed nerves. He slumped back against the door as it closed, his eyes falling shut. It was good to be back home, in his chambers, where the stress of the day couldn’t touch him.

The light tapping of footsteps roused Arthur, but his eyes remained closed. Warm hands came to slide up his hips to his chest, one open palm resting protectively over his heart. Arthur’s lips twitched up into a smile, a hum of satisfaction rumbling from his throat.

“I could hear you thinking from outside the door,” Merlin mumbled, his lips grazing the sensitive skin of Arthur’s throat. His voice washed over Arthur like a warm wave, his heart jumping at the proximity. “The cogs always creak louder after you come back from council.”

“You still can’t speak to me like that, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur said, but there was no sting behind it. Merlin's status hadn’t changed; he still attended to Arthur and had to do some Gaius’ many chores, but after Arthur found out about Merlin’s magic, they had an agreement on leniency. His workload had been cut down substantially with Arthur, despite his slight increase in pay. Besides, Arthur was already planning on appointing Merlin as Court Sorcerer, once the magic ban was repealed. He’d spoken to Merlin about it briefly, skipping over the fact he was going to ask Merlin to be his consort.

“I think we both know I can talk to you however I wish,” Merlin retorted, his mouth leaving a wet trail from the edge of Arthur’s jaw down to where neck met shoulder. “I always have. And I think I always will, _sire,_ ” he said cheekily, and Arthur was about to respond when he took some skin between his teeth and sucked.

Arthur’s words turned to a long, drawn-out moan, the sensation marvelous compared to the monotonous numbness he'd felt since that morning. “Oh, God, Merlin,” he gasped, threading his fingers through the shock of messy black hair. Merlin hummed happily, kissing the new bruise on Arthur’s neck adoringly before moving up again, towards Arthur’s mouth.

Merlin’s lips finally met Arthur’s desperately, soothed only by the gentle hands on Arthur’s chest and the loving way Arthur carded his fingers through Merlin’s hair. They kissed until their lips were sore and swollen. Arthur looked into Merlin’s eyes, and like every other time he was fascinated by them, marveling at the dark, gray-flecked color that could turn molten gold on a whim.

“I missed you,” Arthur said earnestly, surprising himself by his honesty. Merlin seemed surprised as well; his eyes widened almost comically.

As Arthur blushed and tried to rein in his feelings, about to blame it on being exhausted, Merlin smiled and cupped his burning cheek. “I missed you too, Arthur,” he said, blue eyes sparkling mischievously. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.” His hands made a slow progression down Arthur’s chest, gazing at Arthur coyly. “Thinking about what we could do when you came back,” his voice was suggestive; a low, gravelly sound in Arthur’s ear, and Arthur’s body reacted instinctively.

He arched into the touch, a little whine sounding the back of his throat. His own hands reached out to clutch at Merlin. He ran his palms over clothed shoulders and down a lean back, resting in the dip above the curve of his ass, before pulling him in sharply. Their hips pressed together, hard, releasing a pleased moan at the pressure. Merlin’s lips were everywhere, trailing hot, slick touches from the junction of Arthur’s neck and shoulder to the underside of Arthur’s jaw. Arthur’s hands slid down from the small of Merlin’s back to the slight curve of his ass, squeezing possessively. A wrecked keen ripped from Merlin’s throat and his hips jerked forward, grinding his hard length against Arthur’s.

Arthur gasped, but he kept his thoughts straight long enough to laugh under his breath. “And what have you come up with, _Mer_ lin?” he teased shakily. Merlin’s triumphant grin didn’t do much other than heighten his arousal.

“I know how—tired you’ve been,” Merlin gasped out, his hips still moving against Arthur’s, the delicious friction laboring his breathing. He pressed his lips to the corner of Arthur’s mouth, his hands clutched in Arthur’s white tunic. “I figured I could do something for you, something…” he trailed off, dragging Arthur bodily from the door.

Arthur went with no resistance. His tired body was easily maneuverable, following the directions Merlin’s intoxicating hands guided him in. His head was spinning; the room was filled with the smell of Merlin, cold sunshine and earth and mint, an impossible concoction that inebriated Arthur faster than any alcohol.

One second, Arthur was mouthing along Merlin’s collarbones, the next he was laying flat on his back on his bed, staring dazedly up at the crimson canopy. He grunted in surprise and tried to sit up, but then Merlin was there, straddling his hips and pushing him firmly back onto the mattress.

“Merlin—?” Arthur started, but one of Merlin’s hands clasped over his mouth. Arthur stared at Merlin’s smirking face, confusion, arousal, and a dash of annoyance furrowing his brows. Merlin’s smirk only widened, his blue eyes blown with lust.

“Shut up and let me do this,” he commanded, rocking his hips, his cock rubbing hard over Arthur’s. Arthur shuddered at the sensation, groaning softly. Merlin chuckled as Arthur’s muscles went lax. “You’ve been overworking yourself, sire,” he said, his free hand tugging at the v of Arthur’s tunic. “You go to meetings early in the morning, train during the afternoon, and go back to meetings in the evening… It’s a wonder how you can come back to your chambers late at night and fuck me,” Merlin purred, punctuating his words with a sharp roll of his hips.

Arthur let out a loud groan, his arousal spiking. Merlin had always had a cheeky mouth, barbed and witty and downright filthy on occasion. But it wasn’t often that he talked to Arthur that way in bed; when he did, Arthur thought he could come from the words alone. The breathy exhalations of “sire” and “fuck me, yes, right _there, gods,_ your cock” that any other partner would keep to themselves, Merlin vocalized, drawing out Arthur’s title until it was dirty, narrating everything he wanted Arthur to do to him—what he wanted to do to Arthur. It was one of the hottest things Arthur ever experienced.

Merlin’s fingers curled in his chest hair, causing Arthur to snap out of his thoughts. Merlin’s eyes darkened. “You must be exhausted, but you still find the energy to pound me into the mattress the way I like it, fucking me so hard the headboard slams against the wall with every thrust,” he continued. It was driving Arthur _insane_.

The blonde was about to sit up and flip Merlin over when his eyes suddenly flashed gold. Arthur was snapped back into place, held by a freakishly strong force. He struggled against the bonds but couldn’t move; a confused cry made Merlin remove his hand from Arthur’s mouth.

“What’s this?” he demanded, his wrists straining against seemingly nothing. When he turned to look, his wrist seemed to be encased in a shimmering gold manacle.

“A precaution, sire,” Merlin demurred, his hands rucking up Arthur’s tunic. His hot palms skimmed over Arthur’s abdomen and chest, causing goosebumps to pop up on his skin. “I don’t want you overexerting yourself. Let me take care of you tonight,” he whispered, leaning down to press his lips lightly to Arthur’s.

Arthur would’ve given anything to touch him, but he was reduced to sloppily kissing him back. Merlin didn’t seem to mind, his eyes flashing gold once again and suddenly Arthur was as bare as the day he was born. His mouth fell open in surprise, but the words that were about to come were immediately smothered by Merlin’s lips. His tongue tangled with Merlin’s, broken moans and whines exchanged between them until Merlin abruptly pulled away, his clothes vanishing with a simple thought.

Merlin was beautiful. Arthur had always thought so, though he’d never voice it aloud; Merlin was lean, muscled where one would think to find only bone, and well endowed. A trail of dark hair led past his navel down to his cock, pale like the rest of him and straining. Taut, pale skin went only blemished by faint white scars, remnants of the time where Arthur had been oblivious to Merlin’s sacrifices. On days where they felt tender, Arthur kissed and caressed every inch of Merlin’s skin, paying loving tribute to his myriad of scars.

That night, tenderness was far from Arthur’s mind. Hunger warred with need in Arthur’s head, his chest, his groin—all he wanted was Merlin, the ferocity of his own desire surprising him. But Merlin had him held down to the bed, unable to move. Merlin’s grin was smug even as his eyes fell shut at the amazing sensation of skin against skin.

“You’re gorgeous,” Arthur managed as Merlin rose up on his knees, reaching behind himself. Arthur frowned. “What are you—?” he asked, but Merlin cut him off with a heated look.

“I told you, you are overworking yourself,” Merlin said breathily, moaning softly as he played with something inside him. Arthur’s eyes widened in understanding. “So I prepared myself,” Merlin grinned, extracting the something with a gasp. Arthur didn’t have to see the gleaming, slicked wood to know that it was one of their plugs.

“Fuck,” Arthur moaned, glancing at where Merlin dropped the dark wooden plug on the red bedsheets.

Arthur startled when he felt a hand on his cock, wet fingers slicking him up—Merlin’s fingers wrapped around the base. Merlin lifted himself up, positioning Arthur so the tip of his length was pressed against Merlin’s already prepared hole.

Arthur watched Merlin’s face intently as the slighter man took his cock. His pretty, bitten-red lips fell open on the slide down, his eyes shuttering closed. His hands were curled on Arthur’s chest, nails lightly scrabbling against the skin. When he finally bottomed out, a sigh escaped his lips, sweet and soft.

“Merlin,” Arthur choked out, his lover’s tight, overwhelming heat making him see stars. He was held back from fucking up into Merlin, held down onto the bed by his magic. But Merlin was enjoying himself, circling his hips, whining when Arthur’s length brushed against the bundle of nerves that set his blood aflame.

The rhythm Merlin set was just fast enough to make Arthur breathless, but slow enough that he didn’t lose control. Merlin let out truly filthy moans, ending them on wrecked sighs or keens that made Arthur struggle against his manacles. Slowly Arthur was allowed to move his hips, thrusting up into Merlin’s hole as they moved.

“Love this,” Merlin whispered, locking eyes with Arthur as he rode him. “Love having you like this, not able to do anything but let me fuck myself on you. Not able to mark me. That probably frustrates you, huh, sire?” he smirked at Arthur, who growled low in his throat. Merlin laughed huskily. “I know how much you love to mark me, to bruise me, to claim me. But this feels good, doesn’t it?” Merlin asked, dragging blunt nails down Arthur’s chest.

Arthur groaned in frustration. Merlin knew exactly how far Arthur’s possessive streak ran—he cherished looking at the love bites on Merlin’s pale skin, the marks and bruises their lovemaking left behind. Being unable to touch his lover was torture, but this… This was a torture Arthur could learn to enjoy. He arched against the magic, his hips snapping up as his frustration peaked, eyes widening as Merlin’s back bowed in pleasure.

“Oh, _sire!_ ” Merlin moaned, his rhythm faltering as he sped up. Arthur groaned and planted his feet on the bed for leverage, fucking up into him fast and hard. Merlin gasped and started to _bounce._

“S-So good, ngh,” Merlin said, wrapping his own hand around his leaking cock. His eyes were closed, but Arthur swore he saw a faint glow of gold behind his lids. “Feel you so deep like this. Want you to come so deep inside me, _oh,_ ” Merlin cried out, rocking down sharply onto Arthur as his hand flew over his cock. Arthur was already close, his hands curling into fists as he groaned over Merlin’s breathy cries. “Th-There! Gods, yes, sire, right there, I’m—” Merlin’s head tipped back with a soundless scream, his orgasm ripping through him. He clenched around the length inside him as he came over Arthur’s chest and his own hand, the magic surrounding Arthur’s wrists being released in his bliss.

Arthur’s hands gripped Merlin’s hips so hard he’d leave bruises as he drove up into his lover, thrusting once, twice, three times before coming hard inside. Arthur immediately reached for him, drawing an unresisting Merlin down to rest against him.

They lay in silence a while, Merlin lying on Arthur’s chest, catching his breath. After a few moments of simple labored breathing, Merlin shifted enough so Arthur’s cock slipped from him and winced. Arthur instantly tried to soothe him with sleepy kisses.

Merlin settled next to Arthur, nestling against Arthur’s shoulder as he yawned. “How was that, then?” he asked, the coyness in his voice gone. He was smiling at Arthur dopily, his bright blue eyes crinkled at the corners. Arthur’s heart swelled at the sight, unbidden.

“Brilliant,” he said without thinking, silently chastising himself for sounding like a lovesick fool. But Merlin simply hummed contentedly and kissed Arthur’s shoulder, his eyes falling closed.

“Good. Now go to sleep, you prat, you’ll be insufferable in the morning if you don’t get enough rest.”

Arthur chuckled softly, only just managing to get them both under the sheets. He took one last look at Merlin, who was already lax with sleep, his face illuminated by the moonlight spilling from the open window. The fire had gone out, most likely when Merlin came, and the only warmth in the chamber came from Merlin himself.

Arthur sighed as his eyes finally slid closed, a smile tipping his lips. “I love you too, Merlin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is much appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I didn't listen to Beyoncé while writing this shut up.~~


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